Ronaldo energizes Brazil, World Cup

Ronaldo kisses the World Cup. (AP)

In 12 telling minutes, Ronaldo rose up and cemented his place in soccer history with two meaningful goals to lead Brazil to a 2-0 shutout of Germany and win the country's fifth World Cup title.

World Cup bests-worsts
Some of the superlatives and gaffes of World Cup 2002.

06/29/2002

Either Brazil or Germany can win, but only one with flair

Brazil's Rivaldo (left) and Ronaldo laugh during practice on Friday. (AP)

Steve Davis writes that World Cup 2002 looks increasingly like a stirring horse race - albeit one where the ponies shot forward too fast and tuckered out a little coming down the stretch.

06/24/2002

South Korea serving up winner as host
Can it be that the South Koreans, who have ridden the momentum of their co-hosts status into a World Cup semifinal, have yet to realize the full benefit of that home-country advantage?

06/23/2002

Essay: Americans appear to warm up to soccer

American soccer fans celebrate before the USA-Germany game. (AP)

Can it be that after a successful U.S. push deep into World Cup 2002, America at large is starting to figure out why one singular tally on the score sheet matters so much?

06/21/2002

U.S. created opportunities, couldn't capitalize

Landon Donovan (right) can't take advantage of one of his team's best scoring chances. AP

Soccer writer Steve Davis writes that the emerging U.S. soccer team learned a valuable lesson in its 1-0 loss. Soccer is still about one thing: finishing scoring chances. Germany did so. The United States didn't.
• Local German fans follow their hearts, roots
• Slideshows: Game | Reaction

06/20/2002

A round we'll all drink up
The occasional pretender or two can slip into the World Cup second round. The residue is some good matches mixed in with some OK ones.

Crunch time for U.S.

For the U.S. to beat Germany, Brad Friedel will need to continue his spectacular play in goal. (AP)

The U.S. soccer team has zero fear factor going into Friday morning's World Cup quarterfinal match against Germany.

06/19/2002

Officials key to U.S.-Germany quarterfinal match

Officiating will play an important role in the U.S.-Germany match Friday. AP

The United States is up against a physically powerful German team that will use every inch of rope permitted by the referee. Soccer writer Steve Davis believes Team USA has a better chance if the strong-willed German players aren't allowed to dictate the limits of enforcement.

Shots on goal

06/18/2002

Germans hold advantage over U.S.
U.S. soccer players hardly need a classroom lecture on German soccer might  neither the historical kind nor the physical kind.

Shots on goal

06/17/2002

MLS 'misfits' keep U.S. alive and kickin'

Brian McBride (right) is one of several MLS players on the U.S. squad. (AP)

The United States, relying on big contributions from MLS players, is surprising the world, Steve Davis writes. Eight of the United States' 11 starters in Monday's historic 2-0 win over Mexico are current or former MLS players. Brian McBride was the league's No. 1 pick in 1996.
• Slideshows: Game action | Victory and defeat

Shots on goal
Korea-Japan hasn't seen a busier day than the one had by Senegal's El Hadji Diouf, a relentless blaze of speed and craft along the left.

06/16/2002

Shots on goal
Let's hope the first two elimination games, two plodding, tactical matches, aren't indicative of what is ahead.

06/15/2002

Analysis: Despite loss, U.S. achieves primary goal
Steve Davis writes that Americans aboard the U.S. soccer bandwagon found out how much this sport could be cruelly similar to any other.

Shots on goal

06/14/2002

Mexico looks ready for World Cup elite
Mexico, a longtime resident of world soccer's middle class, may have something special going. Coach Javier Aguirre's team of complementary parts will face the surprising U.S. team Monday at 1:30 a.m.

Shots on goal

06/12/2002

No clear favorites yet at World Cup
France gets le boot in the first round? The U.S. team takes down a revered Portugal team?

06/13/2002

Shots on goal

06/12/2002

Shots on goal

06/11/2002

U.S. performances heroic
Well-traveled former U.S. coach Bora Milutinovic liked to say that it "is so hard to score a goal at the World Cup." He always tossed extra emphasis on the "so."

Shots on goal

06/09/2002

U.S. still has work to do
The U.S. soccer team has ridden a wave of confidence and sudden status in the days since Wednesday's stunning upset against Portugal. But American players know that a crash landing awaits if they can't refocus and prepare for Monday morning's contest against a South Korea team that is flying pretty high itself.

06/08/2002

U.S. players' big-game experience shouldn't be taken with grain of salt
U.S. players have banked invaluable experience at important World Cup qualifiers in unfriendly environments in recent years. And they've passed, trapped and tackled in big-ticket games in Europe and, yes, even in their own country.

06/07/2002

Defending champs on brink of elimination
It wasn't a pair of World Cup featherweights that manufactured the tournament's first scoreless draw. Perhaps Uruguay would have been a suspect to deliver a goalless affair. But France? The reigning World Cup champs, who seemed to arrive at Korea-Japan 2002 with even more attacking zip than the team that won four years ago?

06/06/2002

U.S. coach devises game plan and pulls off major upset
Practically every Bruce Arena decision, some ripe for second-guessing by armchair midfielders, proved expertly accurate in the USA's 3-2 win over Portugal.

Shots on goal

06/05/2002

Referees always at center of attention
The truisms of any World Cup: New stars will step forward. Players will commit mistakes that will fracture hearts in far away places. The referees will make news.

Shots on goal

06/04/2002

New cast awaits roles
The United States has a pair of young players, barely past their teens, with skill and speed to spare. At some point, they'll surely man the point on the newest era of domestic soccer talent.

06/03/2002

Event has become star search
Even in a tournament embarrassingly rich with so many fabulous players, the presence or absence of one man can indeed turn a match – and change World Cup fortunes. The examples are arriving quickly at Korea-Japan 2002.

06/02/2002

Germany back on world stage
The month ahead will tell if German soccer has arrested its decline, if the one-time world-beaters can reclaim their slice of the world soccer's elite pie.

06/01/2002

Opener isn't favorite's best time
France may well have dismissed Senegal as a soda-and-sandwich rest stop on the highway to greater World Cup delights.

05/22/2002

Keller or Friedel? U.S. weighs options in goal

USA goal keeper Kasey Keller (above), like Brad Friedel, is capable of making the big-time save. (AP)

When it comes to his quandary at goalkeeper, even U.S. soccer coach Bruce Arena can seem a little flummoxed, soccer beat writer Steve Davis says. At some point in the next two weeks, Arena must choose a starter between two splendid options in goal: Kasey Keller or Brad Friedel.

05/08/2002

U.S. men ready for tune-ups
While the U.S. training camp is getting closer to completion, several players remain absent as Bruce Arena's team starts a rapid-fire three-game series of final World Cup tune-ups.

05/01/2002

World Cup work begins for Arena
Bruce Arena begins juggling on Wednesday. U.S. players and coaches began arriving Tuesday in Cary, N.C., for World Cup preparations. Arena's team will train in North Carolina through May 10, when the camp goes mobile during a three-game tune-up series along the East Coast.

04/24/2002

U.S. Cup hopes rest with defense
The easy part is over for Bruce Arena – selecting his World Cup roster. Now comes the U.S. coach's real work – sorting out the defensive issues. When the team gathers on May 1, the top priority is fixing the potholes that threaten to make World Cup 2002 a redux of the flailing face-plant of four years past.